Gridlocked Gurgaon drains motorists

Sumedha Sharma

Tribune News Service

Gurgaon/Bengaluru, July 29

Thousands of motorists remained stranded overnight as a massive gridlock was witnessed on the Delhi-Jaipur National Highway-8 following a downpour in “Millennium City” — Gurgaon. The scene was no different in country’s I-T hub Bengaluru where rain crippled normal life, leaving in its wake waterlogged roads, flooded houses and severe traffic jams.

Traffic remained affected in Delhi’s satellite city for almost 12 hours last night as traffic and civic authorities shifted blame for mismanagement and lack of planning. Long tailbacks today forced the authorities to clamp prohibitory orders for some time. Schools were ordered to be shut down for two days in Gurgaon. The state government convened a meeting of the Crisis Coordination Committee and sent two senior IAS officers to coordinate efforts to bring back normalcy. By evening, the traffic situation eased. 

The chaos started around 4 pm on Thursday after a drain overflowed following heavy rain and caused waterlogging near Hero Honda Chowk. As traffic grinded to a halt, many motorists abandoned their vehicles and waded through knee-deep water on both carriageways along the highway. The tailback extended up to 15-20 km. The areas affected included Rajiv Chowk, Cyber City, Sheetla Mata Road and Huda City Centre.

#WATCH: Locals catch fish on streets as lake overflows in Bengaluru (Karnataka) due to incessant rainshttps://t.co/8TaFhE0Cyb

— ANI (@ANI_news) July 29, 2016

As vehicles ran out of fuel, motorists took to the social media to vent their ire. The authorities woke up to the gravity of situation only around 7 pm.

A portion of the boundary of the Badshahpur drain ruptured early today, but was fixed later. Morning showers slowed down traffic on the arterial roads of Delhi. Different roads leading to Gurgaon, including NH-8 and Sohna Road, remained congested.

#WATCH: Flood water enters homes in Bommanahalli area of Bengaluru (Karnataka) following heavy rainfall.https://t.co/ZAZ8HsYlv8

— ANI (@ANI_news) July 29, 2016

Chief Minister ML Khattar held a meeting in Chandigarh to address the problem. He blamed his Delhi counterpart, saying a large amount of water exited the city through the Najafgarh drain, which flows out of the national capital. Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu asked Khattar to take urgent steps. 

The police issued an advisory asking people from Delhi to avoid travel to the satellite city.  

Bengaluru witnessed overflowing lakes, drainages and uprooted trees, compounding woes of the people. Boats were deployed in some parts to evacuate stranded people. 

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Yamunanagar floods: 
Why the disparity 

Given Gurgaon’s economic importance for Haryana, the state government was quick to step in. But the same urgency was not seen during the recent floods in Yamunanagar district. On July 27, the Army had to airlift eight farmers stranded on a piece of land in the Yamuna. 

(With agency inputs)